Touhou: The Puppeteer's Birthday
by TKSaysHi
Summary: It's Alice's 'birthday' once again Alice is working all day to make her birthday special: a nagging voice keeps bothering her, which threatens to ruin her day : there's one more trouble on her mind - will anyone show up! Email for Q/A


It's a busy day today – really busy. Get up, changed, and head downstairs. Of course, first thing's first.

_Gensokyo. Gensokyo. Gensokyo._ Makai._ Gensokyo. Gensokyo. Gensokyo. _

_Face it, you're in Gensokyo. Ge-_

So much to do. Were there enough dolls to do them? It's a busy day today. Clean up the house, do the laundry. Don't leave anything lying around. Especially bandages…Everyone seemed to be using something else nowadays. Even…her. Shake your head. You don't have time to be thinking. Lot's of work today. Get a doll doing the bed… wait, one more over there for breakfast. Can't forget breakfast.

_Why? Breakfast? You're not human. You don't need that. Why do you even _sleep?

Never mind. No time for that. Clean the floor. …done. Yes, you're done. No time to rest. Hurry, hurry. Run for the village. Get the ingredients you need. It's a busy day today.

_What do you think you're doing? Stupid magician. Are you even worth that title? Neglected. Not even the shrine maiden cares. Do you even have _friends?

Quick, quick. Start baking. No time to lose. It's almost noon. Lunch? No time for that. It's a special day for you, little one. Scurry along, and make sure today is perfect. No screw ups. It's a busy day today. So many people will be coming today.

_What are you talking about? No one _cares_ about you. Get over it. Worthless. That's right, you're worthless. _

It's almost four o'clock. Is it done? Yes, yes! You've practiced making this so many times. Don't worry about the taste, it'll be fine. You'll only need one table; everyone should sit around each other. It's a busy day today.

Alice, it's six. Everyone's coming soon. Everyone. They're all on their way now, probably. Everyone. Yes, Alice! Everyone! Don't worry about the house, it's spotless. The windows glow, the floor shines. Not a thing out of place. No dolls tonight, Alice. Put them away. Everything will be done by hand so you can celebrate, Alice. No worries, everyone's coming. Everyone's…

_Eight o'clock. _

No one is here.

_Nine o'clock._

Alice… Alice, don't worry. They're just late. Alice, you worked so hard tonight! Don't cry, Alice. Hold it in. They will come. They will…. _She. She? The black-white. _

Alice gave a soft whimper. Then, Alice, doll of a goddess, screamed.

_Nobody cares about you, Alice. Friends? Ha! No one here gives a crap about you. Don't you understand that?! You work so hard for _nothing. _Not even the black-white. She's probably celebrating somewhere._

Alice shook her head. _No more,_ she thought. _Just leave me alone… I… I've suffered enough, don't you think so? Why do you still torment me like this?_

The voice answered, _Because you know you were alone to begin with! Makai was your only home. Yet, you left it. You left Shinki, your creator, and came to this world. Do you know what you are? A traitor. _It let the word sink in, as Alice stared, eyes wide in shock and denial. She shook her head slowly… _You're a traitor, _the voice screamed._ TRAITOR. TRAITOR. TRAITOR. TRAITOR. TRAITOR. TRAITOR. TRAITOR. TRAITOR. TRAITOR. TRAITOR. TRAITOR. TRAITOR. TRAITOR. TRAITOR. TRAITOR. TRAITOR. TRAITOR. TRAITOR. TRAITOR. TRAITOR. TRAITOR. TRAITOR. TRAITOR. TRAITOR. TRAITOR. TRAI-_

"STOP! PLEASE, I BEG YOU! STOP DOING THIS TO ME! I DID NOTHING WRONG BY LEAVING MAKAI! I'M… I'M NEEDED HER-"

Alice collapsed. The doll, given life by a goddess, destroyed by her own hands. Life was too much of a burden for a doll. A doll that is given life – that is the ultimate goal of Alice. She is a living doll herself, brought to life by a goddess.

A body is limp without the soul. Nothing to control it, the body is just a doll. The soul, in turn, useless without the body to contain it. Without the body, it would just be a floating light, that can do nothing, see nothing, express nothing. Without one another, there is no meaning to 'life.' The soul, and the body. Forever intertwined. _Even if brought to life, that which is a host containing a spirit which can express itself is the definition of life itself. Alice, you meet those requirements. There… are… people… out… there… for… yo-…………A-……l-……i-……ce……_

"H-…………heyyyyyyy, Alice!" _A taste of life?_ "Allliiiiice? Earth to Alice? Uh, are you dead? Sheesh, ze. So bothersome, ze…."

"M-…Marisa?"

"FINALLY, ze!" Marisa stood up from her kneeling position. "Sheesh, I've been waiting for an hour for you to wake up, ze. What happened?"

Alice didn't reply. Marisa bent down again, and waved her hand in front of Alice's face. "Are you thereeeee?"

Alice leaned forward, and threw her arms around Marisa.

"H-hey!" Marisa cried.

Alice buried her face into Marisa's shoulder and whispered, "Happy birthday to me, Mari…"

And after a few minutes, a reply came.

"Happy birthday to you, ze. …You're never alone, Alice."

Alice: The magician who uses dolls. She was created long time ago in a place called Makai by the goddess, Shinki. Left Makai to come to Gensokyo. Was she lonely?

Marisa: The black-white [witch] that resides close to Alice's home.

_A AlicexMarisa short._


End file.
